Galatians 3:25

THE MESSAGE

But now you have arrived at your destination: By faith in Christ you are in direct relationship with God. Your baptism in Christ was not just washing you up for a fresh start. It also involved dressing you in an adult faith wardrobe—Christ's life, the fulfillment of God's original promise.

Parallel Translations

New American Standard Bible (1995)
But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor.

Legacy Standard Bible
But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor.

Simplified Cowboy Version
Now that Jesus came, we don't need a prison guard anymore.

Bible in Basic English
But now that faith is come, we are no longer under a servant.

Darby Translation
But, faith having come, we are no longer under a tutor;

Christian Standard Bible®
But since that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian,

World English Bible
But now that faith is come, we are no longer under a tutor.

Wesley's New Testament (1755)
But faith being come, we are no longer under a school-master.

Weymouth's New Testament
But now that this faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor-slave.

King James Version (1611)
But after that Faith is come, we are no longer vnder a Schoolemaster.

Literal Translation
But faith coming, we are no longer under a trainer;

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
But now that faith is come, we are nomore vnder the scolemaster.

Mace New Testament (1729)
but now faith being come, we are no longer under a pedagogue.

Amplified Bible
But now that faith has come, we are no longer under [the control and authority of] a tutor and disciplinarian.

American Standard Version
But now that faith is come, we are no longer under a tutor.

Revised Standard Version
But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a custodian;

Tyndale New Testament (1525)
But after yt fayth is come now are we no lenger vnder a scolemaster.

Update Bible Version
But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor.

Webster's Bible Translation
But after faith is come, we are no longer under a school-master.

Young's Literal Translation
and the faith having come, no more under a child-conductor are we,

New Century Version
Now the way of faith has come, and we no longer live under a guardian.

New English Translation
But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian.

Berean Standard Bible
Now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian.

Contemporary English Version
But once a person has learned to have faith, there is no more need to have the Law as a teacher.

Complete Jewish Bible
But now that the time for this trusting faithfulness has come, we are no longer under a custodian.

English Standard Version
But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian,

Geneva Bible (1587)
But after that faith is come, we are no longer vnder a scholemaster.

George Lamsa Translation
But since faith has come, we no longer are in need of the pathfinder.

Hebrew Names Version
But now that faith is come, we are no longer under a tutor.

International Standard Version
But now that this faith has come, we are no longer under the control of a guardian.

Etheridge Translation
But faith being come, we are not under the conductor.

Murdock Translation
But the faith having come, we are not under the monitor.

New King James Version
But after faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor.

New Living Translation
And now that the way of faith has come, we no longer need the law as our guardian.

New Life Bible
Now that our faith is in Christ, we do not need the Law to lead us.

English Revised Version
But now that faith is come, we are no longer under a tutor.

New Revised Standard
But now that faith has come, we are no longer subject to a disciplinarian,

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
But, the faith having come, no longer, are we, under a tutor; -

Douay-Rheims Bible
But after the faith is come, we are no longer under a pedagogue.

King James Version
But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.

Lexham English Bible
But after faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
But after that fayth is come, we are no longer vnder a scholemaister.

Easy-to-Read Version
Now that the way of faith has come, we no longer need the law to be our guardian.

New American Standard Bible
But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian.

Good News Translation
Now that the time for faith is here, the Law is no longer in charge of us.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
But aftir that bileue cam, we ben not now vndur the vndurmaistir.

Contextual Overview

¹⁹Trust in Christ, Not the Law You crazy Galatians! Did someone put a hex on you? Have you taken leave of your senses? Something crazy has happened, for it's obvious that you no longer have the crucified Jesus in clear focus in your lives. His sacrifice on the cross was certainly set before you clearly enough. Let me put this question to you: How did your new life begin? Was it by working your heads off to please God? Or was it by responding to God's Message to you? Are you going to continue this craziness? For only crazy people would think they could complete by their own efforts what was begun by God. If you weren't smart enough or strong enough to begin it, how do you suppose you could perfect it? Did you go through this whole painful learning process for nothing? It is not yet a total loss, but it certainly will be if you keep this up! Answer this question: Does the God who lavishly provides you with his own presence, his Holy Spirit, working things in your lives you could never do for yourselves, does he do these things because of your strenuous moral striving or because you trust him to do them in you? Don't these things happen among you just as they happened with Abraham? He believed God, and that act of belief was turned into a life that was right with God. Is it not obvious to you that persons who put their trust in Christ (not persons who put their trust in the law!) are like Abraham: children of faith? It was all laid out beforehand in Scripture that God would set things right with non-Jews by faith. Scripture anticipated this in the promise to Abraham: "All nations will be blessed in you." So those now who live by faith are blessed along with Abraham, who lived by faith—this is no new doctrine! And that means that anyone who tries to live by his own effort, independent of God, is doomed to failure. Scripture backs this up: "Utterly cursed is every person who fails to carry out every detail written in the Book of the law." The obvious impossibility of carrying out such a moral program should make it plain that no one can sustain a relationship with God that way. The person who lives in right relationship with God does it by embracing what God arranges for him. Doing things for God is the opposite of entering into what God does for you. Habakkuk had it right: "The person who believes God, is set right by God—and that's the real life." Rule-keeping does not naturally evolve into living by faith, but only perpetuates itself in more and more rule-keeping, a fact observed in Scripture: "The one who does these things [rule-keeping] continues to live by them." Christ redeemed us from that self-defeating, cursed life by absorbing it completely into himself. Do you remember the Scripture that says, "Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree"? That is what happened when Jesus was nailed to the cross: He became a curse, and at the same time dissolved the curse. And now, because of that, the air is cleared and we can see that Abraham's blessing is present and available for non-Jews, too. We are all able to receive God's life, his Spirit, in and with us by believing—just the way Abraham received it. Friends, let me give you an example from everyday affairs of the free life I am talking about. Once a person's will has been ratified, no one else can annul it or add to it. Now, the promises were made to Abraham and to his descendant. You will observe that Scripture, in the careful language of a legal document, does not say "to descendants," referring to everybody in general, but "to your descendant" (the noun, note, is singular), referring to Christ. This is the way I interpret this: A will, earlier ratified by God, is not annulled by an addendum attached 430 years later, thereby negating the promise of the will. No, this addendum, with its instructions and regulations, has nothing to do with the promised inheritance in the will. What is the point, then, of the law, the attached addendum? It was a thoughtful addition to the original covenant promises made to Abraham. The purpose of the law was to keep a sinful people in the way of salvation until Christ (the descendant) came, inheriting the promises and distributing them to us. Obviously this law was not a firsthand encounter with God. It was arranged by angelic messengers through a middleman, Moses. But if there is a middleman as there was at Sinai, then the people are not dealing directly with God, are they? But the original promise is the direct blessing of God, received by faith. If such is the case, is the law, then, an anti-promise, a negation of God's will for us? Not at all. Its purpose was to make obvious to everyone that we are, in ourselves, out of right relationship with God, and therefore to show us the futility of devising some religious system for getting by our own efforts what we can only get by waiting in faith for God to complete his promise. For if any kind of rule-keeping had power to create life in us, we would certainly have gotten it by this time. Until the time when we were mature enough to respond freely in faith to the living God, we were carefully surrounded and protected by the Mosaic law. The law was like those Greek tutors, with which you are familiar, who escort children to school and protect them from danger or distraction, making sure the children will really get to the place they set out for. But now you have arrived at your destination: By faith in Christ you are in direct relationship with God. Your baptism in Christ was not just washing you up for a fresh start. It also involved dressing you in an adult faith wardrobe—Christ's life, the fulfillment of God's original promise. In Christ's family there can be no division into Jew and non-Jew, slave and free, male and female. Among us you are all equal. That is, we are all in a common relationship with Jesus Christ. Also, since you are Christ's family, then you are Abraham's famous "descendant," heirs according to the covenant promises. ²⁰Trust in Christ, Not the Law You crazy Galatians! Did someone put a hex on you? Have you taken leave of your senses? Something crazy has happened, for it's obvious that you no longer have the crucified Jesus in clear focus in your lives. His sacrifice on the cross was certainly set before you clearly enough. Let me put this question to you: How did your new life begin? Was it by working your heads off to please God? Or was it by responding to God's Message to you? Are you going to continue this craziness? For only crazy people would think they could complete by their own efforts what was begun by God. If you weren't smart enough or strong enough to begin it, how do you suppose you could perfect it? Did you go through this whole painful learning process for nothing? It is not yet a total loss, but it certainly will be if you keep this up! Answer this question: Does the God who lavishly provides you with his own presence, his Holy Spirit, working things in your lives you could never do for yourselves, does he do these things because of your strenuous moral striving or because you trust him to do them in you? Don't these things happen among you just as they happened with Abraham? He believed God, and that act of belief was turned into a life that was right with God. Is it not obvious to you that persons who put their trust in Christ (not persons who put their trust in the law!) are like Abraham: children of faith? It was all laid out beforehand in Scripture that God would set things right with non-Jews by faith. Scripture anticipated this in the promise to Abraham: "All nations will be blessed in you." So those now who live by faith are blessed along with Abraham, who lived by faith—this is no new doctrine! And that means that anyone who tries to live by his own effort, independent of God, is doomed to failure. Scripture backs this up: "Utterly cursed is every person who fails to carry out every detail written in the Book of the law." The obvious impossibility of carrying out such a moral program should make it plain that no one can sustain a relationship with God that way. The person who lives in right relationship with God does it by embracing what God arranges for him. Doing things for God is the opposite of entering into what God does for you. Habakkuk had it right: "The person who believes God, is set right by God—and that's the real life." Rule-keeping does not naturally evolve into living by faith, but only perpetuates itself in more and more rule-keeping, a fact observed in Scripture: "The one who does these things [rule-keeping] continues to live by them." Christ redeemed us from that self-defeating, cursed life by absorbing it completely into himself. Do you remember the Scripture that says, "Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree"? That is what happened when Jesus was nailed to the cross: He became a curse, and at the same time dissolved the curse. And now, because of that, the air is cleared and we can see that Abraham's blessing is present and available for non-Jews, too. We are all able to receive God's life, his Spirit, in and with us by believing—just the way Abraham received it. Friends, let me give you an example from everyday affairs of the free life I am talking about. Once a person's will has been ratified, no one else can annul it or add to it. Now, the promises were made to Abraham and to his descendant. You will observe that Scripture, in the careful language of a legal document, does not say "to descendants," referring to everybody in general, but "to your descendant" (the noun, note, is singular), referring to Christ. This is the way I interpret this: A will, earlier ratified by God, is not annulled by an addendum attached 430 years later, thereby negating the promise of the will. No, this addendum, with its instructions and regulations, has nothing to do with the promised inheritance in the will. What is the point, then, of the law, the attached addendum? It was a thoughtful addition to the original covenant promises made to Abraham. The purpose of the law was to keep a sinful people in the way of salvation until Christ (the descendant) came, inheriting the promises and distributing them to us. Obviously this law was not a firsthand encounter with God. It was arranged by angelic messengers through a middleman, Moses. But if there is a middleman as there was at Sinai, then the people are not dealing directly with God, are they? But the original promise is the direct blessing of God, received by faith. ²¹If such is the case, is the law, then, an anti-promise, a negation of God's will for us? Not at all. Its purpose was to make obvious to everyone that we are, in ourselves, out of right relationship with God, and therefore to show us the futility of devising some religious system for getting by our own efforts what we can only get by waiting in faith for God to complete his promise. For if any kind of rule-keeping had power to create life in us, we would certainly have gotten it by this time. ²³Until the time when we were mature enough to respond freely in faith to the living God, we were carefully surrounded and protected by the Mosaic law. The law was like those Greek tutors, with which you are familiar, who escort children to school and protect them from danger or distraction, making sure the children will really get to the place they set out for. ²⁵But now you have arrived at your destination: By faith in Christ you are in direct relationship with God. Your baptism in Christ was not just washing you up for a fresh start. It also involved dressing you in an adult faith wardrobe—Christ's life, the fulfillment of God's original promise. ²⁸In Christ's family there can be no division into Jew and non-Jew, slave and free, male and female. Among us you are all equal. That is, we are all in a common relationship with Jesus Christ. Also, since you are Christ's family, then you are Abraham's famous "descendant," heirs according to the covenant promises.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

faith: Galatians 3:23

we: Galatians 4:1-6, Romans 6:14, Romans 7:4, Hebrews 7:11-19, Hebrews 8:3-13, Hebrews 10:15-18

Reciprocal: Romans 3:29 - General Romans 5:1 - being Galatians 3:19 - till Galatians 3:24 - the law Galatians 4:3 - when Galatians 5:1 - the liberty

Gill's Notes on the Bible

But after that faith is come,.... That is, since Christ the object of faith is come in the flesh, and has fulfilled the law, and redeemed them that were under it from its bondage, curse, and condemnation:

we are no longer under a schoolmaster; under the law as such; as no longer under it as a military guard, nor in it as a prison, so neither under it as a schoolmaster; not needing its instructions, or its discipline; since Christ is come as a prophet to teach and instruct, as a priest to atone for sin, and make intercession for transgressors, and as a King to rule and govern; in whose hands, and not in the hands of Moses, the law now is, as a rule of walk and conversation.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

But after that faith is come - The scheme of salvation by faith. After that is revealed; see the note at Galatians 3:23.

We are no longer under a schoolmaster - Under the poedagogus, or pedagogue. We are not kept in restraint, and under bondage, and led along to another to receive instruction. We are directly under the great Teacher, the Instructor himself; and have a kind of freedom which we were not allowed before. The bondage and servitude have passed away; and we are free from the burdensome ceremonies and expensive rites (compare the note at Acts 15:10) of the Jewish law, and from the sense of condemnation which it imposes. This was true of the converts from Judaism to Christianity - that they became free from the burdensome rites of the Law and it is true of all converts to the faith of Christ, that, having been made to see their sin by the Law, and having been conducted by it to the cross of the Redeemer, they are now made free.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 25. But, after that faith is come — When Christ was manifested in the flesh, and the Gospel was preached, we were no longer under the pedagogue; we came to Christ, learned of him, became wise unto salvation, had our fruit unto holiness, and the end eternal life.

It is worthy of remark that, as ὁ νομος, the LAW, is used by St. Paul to signify, not only the law, properly so called, but the whole of the Mosaic economy, so ἡ πιστις, the FAITH, is used by him to express, not merely the act of believing in Christ, but the whole of the Gospel.